Continued from Part 1
- Abscesses in the molar region of either jaw may penetrate the buccal cortical plate above (in the upper jaw) or below (in the lower jaw) the attachments of the buccinators muscle (A muscle that flattens the cheek and retracts the angle of the mouth). In such acute inflammatory edema and pus discharge spread into the soft tissues of the face or neck. This may present as a cellulitis or less frequently as a localized soft tissue abscess depending on the nature of the infection. Such an abscess may track towards the overlying skin to discharge through a sinus on the skin surface. The abscess may then become chronic with the sinus discharging pus periodically, associated with increasing fibrosis, scarring and disfigurement. Continue reading